DMT, Elf-Machines, and the Mysterious Other:

One of the most remarkable yet puzzling characteristics of psychedelics is their capacity to produce deeply impressive experiences of communication with seemingly autonomous non-human intelligences. These magical and revelatory visionary experiences, typically associated with N,N-DMT, present a number of intellectual and cultural challenges, and also contrast starkly with the mystical, unitive, and non-relational experiences typically associated with 5-MeO-DMT. For example, it is not clear how to interpret this ‘magical’ or ‘revelatory’ category of psychedelic experience in naturalistic terms that are compatible with science, without robbing the experience of its intrinsic ‘spiritual’ value or diminishing its dramatic personal impact.

Interestingly, contemporary academic studies in the philosophy of psychedelics typically focus their discussions on psychedelic experiences characterized by ‘mystical’ and ‘unitive’ forms of consciousness, rather than the ‘visionary’, ‘entity encounter’ experiences characterized by an abundance of astonishingly interactive contents. However, one notable figure who grappled with these philosophical challenges head-on was the American ethnobotanist and psychedelic raconteur Terence McKenna, who described N,N-DMT as ‘the quintessential spiritual and magical tool of this dimension’.

Contextualizing McKenna as a prime exemplar of both ‘entheogenic esotericism’ (Hanegraaff) and ‘psychedelic philosophy’ (Lyon), this presentation will examine McKenna’s use of esoteric language and metaphor to portray the extreme novelty of DMT experiences, and present this in terms of the ‘psychedelic space’ conceptual framework recently developed by the analytic philosopher Aidan Lyon. It will also situate McKenna’s psychedelic philosophy in relation to contemporary academic philosophical discussions of psychedelic experience, and highlight the key metaphors McKenna used to convey his understanding of psychedelics as evolutionary agents mediating a symbiotic relationship between humanity and mysterious non-human intelligences capable of offering a non-human perspective on human problems.

Patrick Everitt is an independent researcher of western esotericism. He completed the Masters in Western Esotericism at the University of Amsterdam, where his thesis investigated Aleister Crowley’s use of peyote for ceremonial magic. His primary research interest is the intersection of religious experience, esoteric entheogenic practices, and naturalistic philosophy in the works of Aleister Crowley, Robert Anton Wilson, and Terence McKenna. He has presented his research on psychedelics and esotericism at a range of international conferences, including the Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelic Research, the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism (ESSWE) conference, Breaking Convention, and the Occulture Conference.

University of Amsterdam Roeterseilandcampus – room number will be emailed before the event to those registered!

Open to the everyone, but capacity is limited. Please register in advance using the form below!